Drive
by ol'bosephus
Summary: She loves it when they're cruisin' together.
1. Chapter 1

.i.

He finds her sitting on the hood of his car when he crosses the parking lot, heels bumping against the grill as she waits. Paul nearly chastises her for potentially damaging the paint job, but he's a bit blindsided by the way her head is tilted back, skin drinking in the sun and dark hair falling across pale shoulders.

"Need something?" he asks curtly. Bella smiles at the sound of his voice, but doesn't open her eyes.

"Let's go for a drive," she says. He goes to put his stuff in the car and realizes with a start that the top is already down. When he looks back she's got his keys dangling from her fingers, her smile now a full-blown mischievous grin.

"Didn't your dad ever tell you stealing's a crime?" he asks, dropping his stuff in the back seat. He doesn't even bother to ask how she got ahold of the keys in the first place - she'll just tell him that he's losing his edge.

"You say stealing, I say borrowing."

Paul swats at her knee. "Off."

She makes a face at him but climbs down from the hood all the same - only after a long, languid stretch that pulls the hem of her shirt well above her navel, because she knows full well the effect that it has on him. He tries for a menacing glare and settles for mild annoyance.

"Where are we goin'?" he asks.

Bella shrugs. "I don't care, I just wanna drive."


	2. Chapter 2

.ii.

She feels, as of late, like her days can be measured by the stretches of silence spent in the passenger's seat of Paul's car and that one time he actually let her get behind the wheel. There's no rhyme or reason as to when and why they go, but most days they find themselves cruisin' up and down the highway, around his neighborhood and hers, killing time and miles. Paul says that her truck must be feeling neglected, but it's just not the same in her old red clunker.

He controls the radio, she controls everything else. She expects, the first time, to be bombarded by rap and metal, instead he listens to an endearingly eclectic mixture of rock, country, and 80's music. He knows all of the words to "Bohemian Rhapsody" and he loves to sing "Don't Stop Believin'" at the top of his lungs.

She learns all kinds of new things when it's just them and the road. He tells her about the whispers around the Rez that Embry is his half-brother, his love for metalwork, and how he and his mom used to go to a Thunderbirds game every year. She feels like she should add something, spill her own secrets, but Paul knows her darkest ones already. She's at a tactical disadvantage. If he learns any more she might be forced to admit that she's actually let him in, of her own volition, and the thought halts her in stark terror.

Paul understands. He never pushes. She feels guilty and undeserving of his loyalty.

They don't talk about it.


	3. Chapter 3

.iii.

They talk constantly about leaving, of how easy it'd be to just drive and never look back. It's mostly in jest. He's tied to the land he protects and as much as she tries to ignore it, she's tied to him.

"You'd make me go to some big city, like New York, wouldn't you?" he asks, having to shout to be heard over the wind. Bella shrugs, eyes obscured by her dark shades, hair whipping around her face.

"What's wrong with New York City?" she counters. "It'd be different, at least."

"I hate cities. My Ma took me to L.A. a few time when I was a kid. Scared the shit outta me, all those huge buildings everywhere, closing in. Like you can't breathe."

"Aw, but I'd be there to protect you. I promise I'd even kick somebody's ass if they tried to mug you."

"I'm holdin' you to that, Swan."

"I got your back."

They roll to a stop at a light.

Paul glances over, "Hey. I've got your back too."

Bella smiles. He reaches over and threads his fingers through hers. He expects her to protest, but she doesn't. He holds her hand the entire rest of the ride. When they get back to the parking lot, she uncouples their hands.

"Thanks for the ride," she says. Her eyes are still hidden beneath her shades, but he knows that she's not looking directly at him.

Paul clenches his fist.

He can feel her pulling away again.

They don't talk about it.


End file.
